About
Artists and writers producing work in the streets – including tags, graffiti, murals, stickers, and other installations on walls, pavement, and signs – are in a unique position to respond quickly and effectively in moments of crisis. Street art’s ephemeral nature serves to reveal very immediate and sometimes fleeting responses, often in a manner that can be raw and direct. At the same time, in the context of a crisis, street art also has the potential to transform urban space and foster a sustained political dialogue, reaching a wide audience and making change possible.
The Urban Art Mapping research team documents and analyzes everything from small stickers and quickly written graffiti to large, commissioned murals. Street art is usually temporary—sometimes graffiti is removed in just a matter of hours. At the same time, some works come to be seen as “iconic” and will be protected and preserved in the streets, while some works of art are painted on plywood that is being removed and stored for future exhibition in different contexts. All of these forms of art are important as expressions of this very complex moment in history. Urban Art Mapping seeks to document all of these voices over the course of time and on a global scale.
Our logo consists of a minimalistic representation of a Minneapolis street map placed within the URBAN type.
The map was designed to look industrial and worn, like rivets on an old steel beam.
The location where
George Floyd was murdered
(orange dot)
The dot is not meant to center the trauma of that event, but to remind us that the reaction to it sparked a global movement for justice.

A compass rose
(internal arrow of the 'A')
Designed by Yuri Santiago, May 24, 2021.
(Logo description adapted from Style Guide copy written by Yuri Santiago)
Urban Art Mapping is a multi-disciplinary research group of faculty and students based at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Faculty Co-director
Todd Lawrence
Todd Lawrence is a faculty co-director of the Urban Art Mapping project and Associate Professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN where he teaches African American literature and expressive culture, folklore studies, and cultural studies.

Faculty Co-director
Heather Shirey
Heather Shirey is a faculty co-director of the Urban Art Mapping project and professor of Art History at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN. Currently she teaches classes on the history of street art and the history of photography.

Faculty Co-director
Paul Lorah
Paul Lorah is a faculty co-director of the Urban Art Mapping project and Associate Professor at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, MN where he currently directs the Geography and Environmental Studies programs. His interests range from conservation planning to mapping street art.

Adem Ogulu

Diana Tewelde

Frederica Simmons

Maggie Stout

Rachel Weiher

Sovann-Jahlee White

Yazmin Moktan

Alice Ready

Ellie Patronas

Hannah Shogren-Smith

Martin Beck

Rita C. Morgan

Summer Erickson

Amber Delgado

Emma Rinn

Jamuna Corsaro

Olivia Tjokrosetio

Shakira Mwakitawa

Tiaryn Daniels

Chioma Uwagwu

Eve Wasylik

Liz Allie

Owen Larson

Shukrani Nangwala

Uyen Thy Duong